soldier game
by Satsuki Takahashi
Summary: A collection of short drabbles involving KotoUmi (Kotori/Umi) and NozoEri (Nozomi/Eri). If time permits, maybe a few cracks. UPDATED: Chapter 03: Relying On You (NozoEri)
1. One Corner of a Wall

Drabble #1 One Corner of a Wall

Minami Kotori x Sonoda Umi

A/N: A random evening together. (P.S. This is a bit of a hint towards Umi-chan who apparently, is a closet pervert.)

"I'm home." Blue hair opened the door knob to the shared home, and then removed her shoes after locking it. She neatly placed her Archery equipment on a rack beside the shoes and put on her indoor slippers. Footsteps came running towards her, and not long a ball of grey threw itself towards her.

She dropped her bag and caught the object with both arms. "Welcome home." Kotori grinned at her.

Umi returned the hug, and then patted her head before starting to stroke her hair. "What brought this on?" She asked confusingly.

Kotori looked at her then smiled with a blush. "Nothing~ hehe~" She untangled herself from the confused archer then walked away. "Get changed~ Dinner is about ready."

"Kotori, I told you, you don't have to do that every day, I can—"

"I know you're always tired from Archery Training since the competition is near, so it's on me until that's done~" Kotori answered in a sing-song voice. Umi could only sigh then proceed to her room and change.

After dinner, they usually lazed around the living room, either cuddled together or all-over each other, although they're almost the same anyway. The thunder suddenly roared outside, startling Kotori and tightening her hold onto Umi's arm as they watched the currently thriller film on the TV.

"Was it going to rain today?" Umi wondered aloud.

"The morning said they'll just be thunderstorms though." Kotori answered focusing her eyes on the television.

Umi dismissed the alarming loudness of the thunderstorm with an 'I see' then resumed watching when she started noticing the sound of heavy droplets on the roof. "It's raining?"

"Seems so." Kotori frowned. "Ah, that reminds me. Come with me here for a sec."

Umi wondered what was up, until Kotori had led her to the end of the hallway, right in front of the door of the bathroom. Worried yellow eyes stared at the corner of a wall, while another pair of confused yellow ones followed. At the end was a flow of liquid that seemed to be rain water.

"Ah, the roof had started leaking." Umi spoke again, when a thunder immediately struck with a loud boom. Kotori had flung herself towards the blue haired female, arms tightly wrapped around her waist. She immediately blushed at the sensation of two full mounds pressing on her back. "K- K- Koto—"

Then another thunder strike. Kotori flinched a little, making her hug Umi tighter.

Umi felt like her mind was swirling. There were two nice mounds perfectly pressed on her back. They were so soft like marshmallows, that Umi actually wondered how they would feel on her ha—_"I don't have time to be thinking about such things!"_

"U- Umi-chan…" Kotori uttered her name in that pleading tone that Umi has been so weak of. "Umi-chan, it's scary."

Umi turned around to face Kotori, only to find those nice breasts pressing right under her own. She was trying her best not to grin, and suppress the blush that's trying to creep their way to her face. "It'll be oka—"

Then another thunder strike. Kotori jumped and unconsciously pushed Umi towards the corner of the wall where water had been accumulating earlier because of the rain. Although not normally clumsy and with good reflexes, Umi had slipped onto the puddle of water and slipped downwards, taking the scared Kotori with her.

Umi just realized now how they positioned now. Kotori basically sat inside her legs, arms still around her waist seeking for salvage towards the mean (but good) thunder strikes.

"Umi-chan…"

Then it hit her. _"Was Kotori really scared of the thunder?" _She thought of the days that they had been together during a thunderstorm. Kotori had kept talking, or she always sang or she always talked to Honoka. When they were children, they always played together during times like this, she never really noticed.

"Umi-chan…" Kotori looked up at her, tears threatening to fall from her eyes.

"_No, No, No! Not the waterworks!"_ Umi immediately tried to think of a remedy for this situation. She's not good at doing small talk, and she doubts that she has any conversation that could keep Kotori talking until she can learn to ignore the thunderstorm until they stopped. She could carry her to her bedroom and watch her until she could sleep but that wouldn't really help anything.

The leak at the corner of the roof was still reeking of water. Umi had ignored about how her back and her behind was wet from the puddle of the rainwater that had gotten inside their home. Her main concern was Kotori. How can she help Kotori ignore the thunderstorms when Honoka is not around?

The lights started blinking, and then later on they were covered in darkness. Their only illumination was the emergency light from the living room that would probably run out in about four hours. With the darkness, Umi couldn't see what kind of face Kotori was making, until she felt hands clung onto her clothes tightly, and suppressed crying sounds coming directly from around her chest.

Kotori had cried.

"_Damn you, thunderstorm."_ Umi thought, staring begrudgingly on the roof.

"Umi-chan…"

Umi panicked. She didn't know how to deal well with a crying Kotori. She never made Kotori cry. _"DAMN YOU, THUNDER." _She cursed in her brain, and then protectively wrapped her arms around Kotori's shoulders. Then an idea hit her, something that, maybe only she could do. She blushed.

Another thunder hit, a bit louder than the one before it. Then silence again, with the only sound of quick drops of rain on their roof, and the occasionally lighting of the room due to the thunder.

Umi inhaled deeply, and exhaled. She removed an arm from Kotori's shoulder and made her other hug her tighter. "Kotori."

Yellow eyes widened, when warm lips covered her own. Kotori, realizing that this was probably Umi's chosen way to protect her from the mean!Thunder, she closed her eyes and let herself melt into those warm lips.

With her free hand, Umi rested it right behind Kotori's head to encourage her to continue kissing. It was her only way to completely distract the female, and she sure hope it's going to work. Another thunder struck, but Kotori didn't make any kind of movement that showed of her noticing it. Umi smiled onto their kiss.

_A kiss does do their magic. _

_(One Corner of a Wall/END)_


	2. On A Whim

On A Whim

Toujou Nozomi x Ayase Eri

A/N: Eri seemed like in deep thought. Although spiritual, Nozomi wanted to know about it, from her mouth.

Toujou Nozomi sat at the side of the Student Council room table, her usual spot. She was signing off papers she's directly handing to the President for a finally signing before it goes to the School Chairman, but she notices that the paper only started piling.

"_But Erichi is writing…"_ Nozomi looked at her direction and watched her face. She hung her head to the right side, as if stuck on something. She then leaned her elbow on the table, then propped her head atop her hand. She scribbled something, and then hung her head again.

"Erichi?" She called, but was ignored. Nozomi raised an eyebrow, and decided that she will take matters into her own hands. She slowly stood up from her chair, making sure that the blonde female won't turn her attention to her. She walked behind Eri, and peeked on her notebook. _"Kyoto?"_

She slowly wrapped her arms around her shoulders and pulled her head to her chest. Eri reflexively covered her notebook with paper her shoulders stiffening. "N- Nozomi?"

"What are you doing, Erichi?" Nozomi asked, crossing her arms across Eri's front, her left grasping her right wrist.

"N-N- Signing papers?" Eri blushed as she looked away and firmly covered her hands on the paper before her.

"But the papers are piling." Nozomi spoke. She straightened her back and slid her hands on Eri's jaw, and slowly made her head turn upwards to look at her face. "Erichi, what is wrong?"

Eri immediately forces her head a front then looks to her side, a blush suddenly spreading across her space. "There's really… nothing wrong."

Nozomi sighed. "You worry me." Eri sighed and pouted. 'Worry' was the keyword.

"We- Well…" Eri straightened her back, and leaned her head onto Nozomi's body. "I wanted to go to Kyoto… I knew you'd like it there. But I can't think of a good reason to invite you…"

"_Sometimes you worry too much, over the littlest things."_ Nozomi smiled, and then placed both of her hands on the blonde female's shoulders. She started slowly massaging them, smiling when the tensed muscles started to relax. "All you had to do was to ask."

"Really?" Eri quickly stood up and faced the violet haired vice president. "Th- Then, can you—"

"No." Nozomi answered playfully with a smirk.

She watched Eri hunch forward with a pout on her face, then sigh. She smiled again.

"We can plan about it, after finishing the paperwork, okay?" Nozomi answered, and watched Eri nod and smile like a child. Nozomi then sat on her place, propped a hand on the table her head atop it and watched Eri.

She moved with a smile, precise and fast. Nozomi enjoyed watching her work, how hard she works for the school, for the council. Now that the school won't have to be shut down, we have to arrange the next student council election for when we graduate this coming spring. Although it is a sad reality that the two of them would be graduating soon, Muse will still remain as is.

"Nozomi?"

"Mm?"

"What are you doing?"

"Waiting for you." The violet haired female grinned and moved her head left and right. "We're planning our trip today right?"

"R- right." Eri flushed and continued working. "I kind of can't concentrate with you staring intensely at me though."

"But these are my feelings for you, Erichi." Nozomi answered, her tone turning serious.

"G- Geez, Nozomi."

Nozomi smiled to herself as she watched Eri's face flame up, complementing her white skin and her blonde her. In no time, Eri was able to sign and segregate all the papers into order and piled them over Nozomi's desk for final checking that's due the next day at school.

"I'll go to the restroom for a while." Eri said and Nozomi nodded, telling her that she's going to be fixing their stuff.

Nozomi fixed paperweights on the stack of paper and noticed a small notepad sticking out from other one of the papers. She gently pulled it out and immediately recognizes the Council President's handwriting on it. She read the note and smiled to herself, quietly putting it in her pocket. "For keepsake for the President's cuteness~"

When the door to the council room opened and blonde hair peeked inside, Nozomi immediately tackled the unsuspecting female, wrapping her arms around her neck immediately. "North of Kyoto, is it?"

"E- Eh?"

"You're planning on _taking _me there, isn't it so?"

Eri's face turned red, she looked away, anywhere as long as it wasn't Nozomi's face. "H- How did you know?"

"Because I can just feel it." Nozomi teased, pulling Eri closer to her, speaking directly in front of her mouth. "Am I wrong?"

"N- No. I—"

"You could have just asked me, you know?" Nozomi spoke with a pout.

"We- Well, I've never done this before and you know I'm not the type of person to go into trips." Eri spoke, her face showed of frustration. "And I don't know of your plans for summer, so I don't know how to bring it up. It's my first time to ever want to go to a trip with someone and I—" then warm lips covered her own shivering ones.

"You talk too much, Erichi." Nozomi winked at her, sending the poor blonde over edge her face exploding into red. "Well then, aren't we going to plan when and where exactly in the northern part of Kyoto are we going?"

"Y- You're going with me?"

"Erichi, do we have to go over this again, or you'd want me to take _you_ instead?"

"…ugu…"

Quietly stashed in Nozomi's pocket, the notepad had contained information of the trip Eri was previously solo-planning on. And most of all the words, _"With this trip… maybe we can become closer." _

(On A Whim/END)

A/N: Who would've thought Eri was capable of pulling a Kotori-Umi hetare quality. LOL


	3. Relying On You

Relying on You

Toujou Nozomi x Ayase Eri

A/N: Chairman Minami tells Eri that Nozomi couldn't go to school today because of flu, so she tells her to suspend Student Council Activities for the day. *According to the profile Diary, Nozomi lives alone, away from her parents.

...

"Ayase-san? Do you have time?" The School Chairwoman poked her head inside the Student Council room early in the morning where Eri had been preparing to start at papers.

"Ah, Chairwoman. Yes, please enter." Eri stood from her chair and opened the door. "Please have a se—"

"It's alright, Ayase-san. I'll be brief. I know the student council is busy, but the monk from the shrine, that Toujou-san—"

"Did something happen to Nozomi?"

The chairwoman coughed and smiled. Eri blushed immediately. "As I was saying, the monk called that Toujou-san will be absent today because of a flu. I am only here to tell you that you should refrain from taking care of Student Council activities by yourself today."

Eri creased her eyebrows then bowed at the chairwoman for telling her the information. She then sat on her usual chair and stared at the pile of papers in front of her.

_She didn't call me instead?_

"_I went anyway…"_ Eri stood in front of the small house that Nozomi lived alone in. _"Very drenched from the rain too…"_ She rubbed her face with one hand to whisk away the rain and turned around to look at the sky. "Doesn't seem to be stopping soon…"

She brought up a hand and knocked. She waited for a few minutes, but realized that no one seemed to be coming to get the door. Curiously, Eri turned the knob and was surprised to find it open. She entered the quiet and dark home and stood by the front door after locking it. She raised an eyebrow and sighed.

"_I'm an idiot. I should have just gone home, change clothes, and bring an umbrella here."_ Eri turned around to open the door again when she heard a faint voice coming from the living room of the house she's all too familiar with.

"Is someone there?" the weak voice spoke. Eri dropped her bag on ground, ignoring the cold that had started to seep into her skin and rushed to where it was. "Oh, Erichi. You're dripping wet." The insinuating innuendo was present, but tiredness was also evident.

Nozomi looked at her with amused green eyes, her violet hair down in tangled strands. She had her back prompted up at the arm rest of the couch, wearing her usual fluffy sleeveless shirt and pants for sleeping. Her face was flushed pink, and she seemed to be sweating a lot. Green eyes blinked towards worried blue ones.

Eri wanted to scold her. _You left the door open, what if a burglar came in! You left the door open, what if there was a serial killer on the loose! _She frowned and continued staring at Nozomi's face. She wanted to tell her, _you didn't even tell me, call me, text me that you were sick._ She simply sighed, which mostly came off as a scoff.

"Hold on, alright? I'll go get you a towel and cloth—" Nozomi tried to get off the couch, but Eri was faster than she was, already there, settling her shoulders onto the couch, a hand to her forehead. "Erichi—"

"I know where they are, I'll get them myself," Eri spoke, her tone oddly cold and left Nozomi in the living room as she went to take a short warm shower; borrowed some dry clothes to change into, and put her own clothes in the dryer. She borrowed simple shorts and a shirt and went back to the living room.

It was getting dark, about time for supper. Eri hesitated to open the lights in the living room, but she needed to take a look at Nozomi anyway. She opened the lights and looked at the living room to find the violet haired female, her eyes closed, peacefully sleeping. She knelt beside her, resting one of her hands on the small table and moved her hand to check on Nozomi's temperature on her forehead.

Blonde eyebrows frowned at the high temperature that would probably still run until the next day. She stood up and took a thermometer, a basin, and some towels and brought them into Nozomi's room. She went back into the living room again and stood in front of the couch. Eri stretched her right arm first, then her left arm. She twisted her upper body left and right, and then whisked both of her hands as if drying it.

"Sorry about this." Eri spoke in a whisper, then placed one hand under Nozomi's knees and another on her back, and lifted her up in one scoop. Thankfully the sleeping female didn't wake up, and Eri let out a sigh of relief. She carefully settled Nozomi on the bed and pulled the covers up to her chest after placing the electronic thermometer under Nozomi's left armpit. She then sat beside the bed, put the towel in the basin, wrung it lightly, and then folded it to place on the sick female's forehead.

Not long after, the thermometer sounded off, and Eri took it and looked at the temperature. _"38.6 degrees…"_ Eri frowned and sighed. She stood up and went back to the medicine cabinet and looked for some paracetamol, which she found none of.

...

Toujou Nozomi opened her eyes and was surprised to see a familiar ceiling. She reached up to her forehead and took off the towel resting there. She sat up and faced an undefeatable headache. She rested her back on the headrest and looked around.

"…"

Before she realized it, she didn't know why, or how, but suddenly there were tears. Her heart was in pain, and tears were falling, and she didn't even know why it was happening. It was dark, and outside the window was rain and thunderstorms. She closed her eyes.

She was alone again.

Then there was a warm hand, removing the tears. "I'm sorry."

Green eyes stared into passionately worried blue ones. "Eri?"

"I went to buy medicine." Blonde hair swayed with her movement as she smiled and held up a plastic bag from the nearby drugstore. She settled it on the side table and then sat on the bed. "Why are you crying?"

"I don't know," Nozomi answered and looked at her lap. Then there it was again, the warm hand, on her face. She looked up only to face a jaw and feel warm lips on her forehead. "Eri, I—"

"Living alone must be hard." Eri spoke in a gentle whisper. "But you remember, right? You're not alone anymore." She slowly placed both of her hands behind Nozomi's head and neck and pulled her towards her shoulder. "I'm here now, aren't I?"

Arms wrapped around Eri's body then Nozomi nodded on her shoulder. Eri caressed her violet hair, smoothing it out. Upon noticing the leveled breathing, Eri thought that Nozomi might have fallen asleep again and let her go. She settled her under the protective sheets of the blanket, and straightened her in the bed again.

Eri looked at her for the last time, and then patted her head. "You've done well, Vice President."

...

"Un, harasho!" Nozomi heard from outside her door, and she immediately laughed. The door in her room opened, and then the lights were switched. She slowly sat up and looked at Eri with a smile. The blonde only stared at her, a tray in one hand and confusion on her face. Nozomi only slowly shook her head left and right, still smiling.

"How is it?" Eri asked, watching Nozomi eat her porridge.

Nozomi smiled at her and continued eating. "Harasho," she spoke then laughed. Eri gave her a magnanimous smile, enough to make her blush and look away.

Eri put away her eating utensils and gave her some paracetamol for the flu and some vitamins. Nozomi settled under the sheets again.

"Are you going home?" she asked.

"No," Eri answered in confusion. "What makes you think I will? Are you chasing me away?"

"The only thing I'm chasing with you is your skirt," Nozomi replied with a grin. Eri immediately blushed.

"A- At least your brain works fine then." Eri looked away then pouted, closely looking like an equals sign, three, equals sign emoticon. "Skirt chaser."

"I'm a molester too, if you want to add."

"Nozomi!" Eri gave her a scolding shout as green met blue. Then they laughed.

Nozomi slowly sat up, took off part of the blanket, moved sideways and patted the empty space beside her. Eri blushed and looked away. Nozomi patted the space again.

Eri pouted again, took off her hair tie, and slowly climbed up into the bed. "*Ojamashimasu…"

The moment her blonde hair was settled onto the pillows, arms immediately wrapped around her neck, pulling her into a hug.

Unspoken words hung around the silence.

"Yeah," she answered.

Eri then threaded her fingers into violet hair, as warmth spread evenly between the two of them,

And into their hearts.

(Relying On You/END)

A/N: WELL THEN, DO YOU NEED CHEESE WITH YOUR FLUFF.

* I'll be intruding.

**Omake**

A loud sneeze.

"Oh my, President, did you catch a cold?" Nozomi teased as she signed some papers inside the Student Council Room. Eri rubbed the bridge of her nose as she took a tissue from her pocket and wiped her face.

"And whose fault was that?"

"Well, whoever is at fault at that definitely has no regrets."

"NOZOMI!"

(Relying On You/TRUE END)


End file.
